Business & Entrepreneurship

Srinivas Venugopal, Ph.D.

Name: Srinivas Venugopal

Education:

Ph.D. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

MBA University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, College of Business

With UVM Since: 2016

Title: Assistant Professor

Department/College: Grossman School of Business

Research areas/interests:

Entrepreneurship in Subsistence Marketplaces

Venugopal Interview Summary

Dr. Srini Venugopal joined the University of Vermont’s faculty in the fall of 2016. At age 32, he is an assistant professor of the Grossman School of Business and focuses on entrepreneurship in the context of poverty. Dr. Venugopal first became involved with refugee research when he visited a UNHCR refugee camp in Uganda, where he interviewed residents with the goal of eventually building economic opportunities for the individuals within the camp. While his projects primarily focus on entrepreneurship and poverty, there is a segment focused specifically on the entrepreneurship of refugees.

Currently, Dr. Venugopal is studying how entrepreneurship empowers women in poverty. This research is based on an ethnographic study of 25 women living in an Indian slum. Venugopal is also researching entrepreneurial activity in the context of poverty to develop solutions in the areas of education, food, nutrition, and health. Venugopal is one of the first to examine the refugee crisis and refugee-related issues from a business discipline, which brings some new and unique challenges. However, he also believes business brings a valuable approach to some of the problems many refugees face. Through a business perspective, there is an exploration of markets and the primary means through which basic consumption needs are met in poverty. This research can figure out how to create inclusive markets in poverty-stricken areas so that the poor can become both consumers and entrepreneurs.

Though Venugopal takes a business-oriented perspective in dealing with the refugee crisis, he also knows it is vital to approach the issue from a multitude of disciplines. As Venugopal views it, people do not live their lives in academic silos, and because of this, research must seek to understand all of life's circumstances, which can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach. For individuals wishing to become involved with refugee-related work, no matter the discipline, Venugopal urges them to listen to the individuals they are working with instead of approaching the issue with solutions already in mind.

To see an in-depth look at Professor Venugopal’s work check his website: http://www.srini-venugopal.com/